Bhubaneswar: The Srimandir at Odisha’s Puri will remain closed for fours hours today due to the ‘Banaka Lagi’ or Srimukha sringara ritual of Lord Jagannath and his siblings at the temple. The darshan of the deities will be restricted for the devotees for four hours from 4 PM to 8 PM.
Only a small group of ‘pujaris’ will be allowed inside the ‘garba gruha’ or sanctum sanctorum for the rituals.
The Holy Trinity (Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra) along with Lord Sudarshan of Puri Sri Mandir will adorn a new look after a special make-up ritual on the ratnabedi. The ritual is performed seven to eight times a year.
Banaka Lagi derives its name from ‘Bana’ meaning forest and ‘Lagi’ meaning apply. According to culture experts, certain rare forest products are used to prepare the four types of colours- haritala (red), hengula (yellow), sankha (white) and black and these are then applied to the face of the deities. Banaka Lagi ritual of the deities is performed by a particular class of servitor known as Datta Mahapatra.
Notably on April 24, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has presented an annual budget of Rs 237.58 crore for 2022-23 financial year. This budget is Rs 47.24 crore more than that of the previous financial year.
The budget will be taken up for approval at the next meeting which is scheduled to be held today
Ms Kalinga